John Leguizamo delivered an impassioned speech about Latinx representation in the television industry at the 76th Emmy Awards on Sunday.
The actor, who has penned several open letters urging Hollywood executives to recognize actors of color — including a 2022 piece published in The Times — said during the awards show at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live that, when it comes to promoting diversity in film and television, “not complaining doesn’t change anything.”
Leguizamo delivered his pointed, and loudly applauded, remarks while introducing the chair of the Television Academy, Cris Abrego. Read his full speech below.
What’s up? I’m John Leguizamo, and I’m one of Hollywood’s DEI hires. That’s right. DEI, the D is for diligence, the E is for excellence, the I is for imagination. And everyone in this room tonight has dedicated their lives to diligence, excellence and imagination, so we are all DEI hires. And man, what a beautiful and diverse room this is tonight, ¡Wepa!
Because when I was going up in Jackson Heights, Queens, a scrawny little wannabe gangster — [to audience members clapping] you’re not from Queens, don’t lie — I didn’t know that people like me could be actors. At 15, I didn’t know the word representation. Actually, a lot of words I didn’t know back then. But I saw a lot of brown face. I saw Marlon Brando play a Mexican in “Viva Zapata!” and Al Pacino played Cuban gangster Tony Montana, and Natalie Wood play a Puerto Rican beauty named Maria. Everybody played us, except us.
I didn’t see a lot of people on TV who look like me. Of course, there was always Ricky Ricardo, “Lucy, you got a lot of ’splaining to do.” And I know some of you remember the Looney Tunes cartoon mouse Speedy Gonzales, the fastest mouse in all of Mexico, “¡Arriba Arriba! ¡Ándale!” and his lethargic, useless sidekick, Slowpoke Rodriguez: “Sorry, Señor Pussycat, I can’t play wit’ ‘chu no more, it’s time for my siesta.”
That’s how we saw ourselves because that’s all we saw of ourselves. I used to watch “Star Trek” and think, “Wow. In the future, there ain’t gonna be no Latin people! But at least, then, the food will suck.” And for years, I didn’t complain about the limited roles my people were offered: the spicy sexpot, the Latin lover, the maid, the gang-banger. Turns out, not complaining doesn’t change anything.
So for the past few years, I’ve been complaining. A few months ago, I took out a full page ad in the New York Times, asking Emmy voters to recognize candidates of color, and it’s a good thing I decided to do it before I found out how much a full page ad in the New York Times costs. But the ad worked because, overnight, Hollywood changed. OK, not really.
But what I see here tonight makes me, well, almost happy and certainly less angry, because tonight is among the most diverse list of nominees in Emmys history. I see lots of my incredibly talented Latinx brothers and sisters. Selena Gomez is nominated for “Only Murders in the Building,” and she’s been carrying Steve Martin and Martin Short for three whole seasons [audience laughs]. Sofia Vergara is nominated for “Griselda” — dale, homegirl!
Issa López is being recognized for “True Detective: Night Country,” which also had Indigenous actress Kali Reis in a lead role. Yes, sir. And Nava Mau, who was born in Mexico City and starred in “Baby Reindeer,” and she’s the first transgender person ever nominated for a limited series acting Emmy. Also, my pal, Liza Colón-Zayas — ¡baya! — she won for “The Bear,” the charming story of white people who are obsessed with Michelin stars and making kale taste good.
That’s five Latinx nominees being honored tonight — six, if you count Mark Cuban from “Shark Tank.” His last name is Cuban, that counts. And here’s another sign of progress: Right after I took that ad out in the New York Times, academy members elected the first ever Latino chair. Mero mero, Cris Abrego. You’re welcome, Hollywood. I did it.
[The announcer for the ceremony speaks: Actually, John, Cris Abrego was elected chair of the Television Academy in November 2023, which was eight months before your ad.”]
Yeah, whatever. But we need more stories from excluded groups: Black, Asian, Jewish, Arab, LGBTQ+ and disabled. And this show tonight is proof that our industry is making progress. So I am delighted to introduce to you someone who is committed to protecting and fostering that progress, please welcome the chair of the Television Academy, Cris Abrego.
